Names, brands, writing, and the language of commerce.

January 14, 2016

January Linkfest

The ABC Family network, stigmatized by that F-word in its name, now calls itself Freeform. Network president Tom Ascheim told the Television Critics Association that the new name “not only elicits the moment of transition in the medium and a sense of ‘creativity’ and ‘spontaneity’ but also evokes [a] younger 14 to 34-year-old audience, whom he’s dubbed ‘becomers’.” So much to ponder in that single sentence. (Hollywood Reporter)

As for the Freeform logo, Brand New dismisses it as “atrocious in either its stacked or horizontal form.”

Dinter, bitz, and gwop: a guide to British youth slang. Wherein you’ll learn that y/y is “an all-purpose question tag like French n’est-ce pas, or a slightly more elegant innit?” (The Conversation, via Lynne Murphy)

The Chief Obfuscation Champion prize was split by two successive Twitter CEOS. “[Twitter CEO] Dick Costolo crammed into a single, interminable sentence the words ‘iterate’, ‘logged out experience’, ‘curate’, ‘moments’, ‘platform’ and ‘deliver’. He subsequently resigned and was replaced by Jack Dorsey, who promised straight-talking in an email only to sprinkle it with ‘moving forwards’, and ‘roadmaps’ and ‘reinvest in our most impactful priorities’.”